A Rundown of Abbott Laboratories’ Diagnostic Products Segment

Abbott Laboratories (ABT) is one of the leading companies in the diagnostic products space in the United States, with sales of around $4.7 billion in 2014. The company’s Diagnostic Products segment is the leader in blood screening products and immunoassay testing, or tests used to detect specific molecules for the presence of specific antibodies in body fluids.

The segment has reported significant improvements in operating margins over the years with the focus on the development of next generation products and solutions that encompass the entire spectrum of healthcare.

Abbott’s Diagnostic Products segment portfolio consist of following sub-segments:

• Molecular Diagnostics
• Core Laboratory Diagnostics
• Point-of-Care Divisions

Abbott’s Core Laboratory Diagnostics division offers a wide range of innovative systems and tests for hospitals, laboratories, blood banks, physicians’ clinics, which provides automation, efficiency, and convenience to the customers. The company’s Molecular Diagnostic division products are used to diagnose, determine therapies, and monitor the progressions of any changes in the genes or chromosomes of the patients.

By comparison, Abbott’s Point-of-Care Diagnostics division consists of products for fast and accurate blood analysis at a patient’s bedside. The premier point-of-care diagnostic product offered by Abbott Laboratories is i-STAT, a handheld device with diagnostic and data management capabilities. The BD Veritor System by Becton Dickinson and Company (BDX) is another point-of-care product in the diagnostic products space.

Some of the leading brands of Abbott Laboratories in its Diagnostic Product segment include Abbott Prism, a blood screening test, Accelerator, an advanced lab automation system, and M2000, a molecular testing system.

The Iridica molecular testing platform, a technology to diagnose serious infections much faster than the existing systems and platforms, is a new product in Abbott’s portfolio and has been approved in Europe.

One of the other recent launches of Abbott Laboratories is Architect Clinical Chemistry Hemoglobin A1c test, which provides information on the patient’s blood-glucose concentration over the past several months, facilitating a more efficient diagnosis of diabetes.

Medtronic (MDT) and Boston Scientific Corporation (BSX) are among Abbott Laboratories’ major competitors. To gain exposure to Abbott Laboratories (ABT) without investing directly in the company, you can invest in the iShares US Medical Devices ETF (IHI), which has an allocation of around 10.5% in Abbott Laboratories. For diversified exposure to ABT, investors can also invest in the iShares Global Healthcare ETF (IXJ), which has about 1.7% of its total holdings in ABT.

Continue to the next part of this series for a discussion of Abbott Laboratories’ Established Pharmaceuticals segment.